For The San Diego Union-Tribune

Body of knowledge

The average person ingests approximately 100 milligrams (0.003 ounce) of dust and dirt each day. Doesn’t sound like much, but in an average lifetime, it adds up to six pounds. It gets worse: Scientists have estimated that the average person inhales around 50 billion dust particles an hour and over a lifetime, that works out to 45 pounds.

Sometimes, it’s not water weight. Just the opposite.

Get me that. Stat!

Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder: 5 percent of patients die within four years of diagnosis. The mortality rate nearly doubles if those patients have coexisting psychiatric disorders.

Counts

4.8 — Estimated amount of money, in trillions of dollars, spent on hospital care, clinical services, drugs and all other health spending in the U.S. last year

7.7 — Projected estimated amount by 2032

4.2 — Gross domestic product of Japan, in trillions, last year

Sources: Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Worldmeter

Stories for the waiting room

Long COVID remains a complex and poorly understood condition. It has at least 200 known potential symptoms, and manifests differently in each sufferer. Still, modern medicine requires an official definition.

Here’s the most recent, adopted by a special committee of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine:

Long COVID “is an infection-associated chronic conditions that occurs after SARS-CoV-2 infection and is present for at least three months as a continuous, relapsing and remitting, or progressive disease state that affects one or more organ systems.”

Tell that to your doctor.

Doc talk

Cacchination — a fit of spontaneous, uproarious, unrestrained laughter

Mania of the week

Klazomania — an obsession or propensity to scream

Food for thought

A lot of folks happily declare themselves lovers of meat, carnivorous by choice. Still, maybe there should be limits. All of the following are eaten by people of different cultures and in different places, also by choice: guinea pigs, horse, bull testicles, snake, possum, raccoon, milt (fish sperm), tarantulas, maggots, chicken feet, head of sheep or calf and iguana. None but the feet really taste like chicken.

Best medicine

A man goes in for a chest X-ray.

Radiologist: “I’ve got your images. It shows you have pimples on your left ventricle.”

Man: “Omigod. What does that mean?”

Radiologist: “You’re still a teenager at heart.”

Observation

“Age is something that doesn’t matter, unless you are a cheese.”

— Spanish and Mexican filmmaker Luis Buñuel (1900-1983)

Medical history

This week in 1965, the first U.S. surgical operation on a bull to correct a sperm blockage was performed. The Aberdeen-Angus bull, named Linderis Evulse, was worth $176,000 and, presumably, all of his potential progeny made the operation cost-effective.

Ig Nobel apprised

The Ig Nobel Prizes celebrate achievements that make people laugh, then think. A look at real science that’s hard to take seriously, and even harder to ignore.

In 2006, the Ig Nobel Prize in Medicine went to an international team of American and Israeli scientists for their published paper: “Termination of Intractable Hiccups with Digital Rectal Message.”

Say no more, but please cough.

Medical myths

Potatoes are often vilified because they possess a high glycemic index, meaning their rapidly digestible carbohydrates can spike one’s blood sugar level — not a good thing in terms of conditions like diabetes.

But much depends on the type of potato, how it’s cooked and the total amount of carbohydrates consumed. Starchy potatoes have complex carbohydrates, which break down more slowly in the body than simple sugars. They’re also rich in vitamin C, potassium, fiber and other nutrients, especially when consumed with the skin. A whole baked sweet potato, for example, can be a fine addition to a meal; french fries, not so much.

Last words

“No.”

— Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1826-1906) reportedly stood up on his bed, protesting, after he overheard his doctor tell his wife he was looking better. (Ibsen suffered from tuberculosis.) Another version, however, he simply replied “Tvertimod,” which means “to the contrary,” and then died.

LaFee is vice president of communications for the Sanford Burnham Prebys research institute.

Originally Published: July 23, 2024 at 5:30 a.m.

After four years and a few left turns, the acclaimed Izola Bakery has finally found its feet with a soft-opening at 1429 Island Street in June. Moving two blocks from 13th Street to the new flagship location took “seven months, three weeks, and five days,” laughs Jeffrey Brown, who launched Izola with his partner Jenny Chen in 2020. But who’s counting when it’s only the first step in building a bread empire?

The 7,211-square-foot space next to Fault Line Park includes nearly 3,000 square feet of an interior ground-level dining room with its finishing ovens, a 1,546-square-foot patio, and almost 1,900 square feet of basement area, where Izola’s dough kitchen now resides. Brown walked me through the facility last week during a surprisingly uncrowded morning.

“This is a step towards building what we envision, or really to deliver on our stated mission, which is to change the way people think about croissants and sourdough,” he explains, which he hopes to accomplish by building a state-of-the-art, zero-emission factory at Fairmount Avenue and Thorn Street in City Heights sometime next year. 

Once operational, the City Heights Dough Factory would allow Izola to increase its production 20x, potentially launch wholesale and direct-to-consumer channels, and eventually open more bakeshops across San Diego. Brown says they’ve already got eyes on location in La Jolla and aspirations for North County, Orange County, and Los Angeles. Still, they’d most likely start with one attached to the Dough Factory to help build community in the neighborhood.

“City Heights has some amazing food and a whole bunch of amazing stuff. But in terms of investment in the community, it’s under-invested,” he explains. Izola will focus on hiring from within the immediate community and the Second Chance program, which helps pair formerly incarcerated employees with employers. It’s part of Izola’s five social justice principles: economic, gender, LGBTQIA, racial, and environmental. 

But expansion at the cost of quality would be a “deal killer,” explains Brown. He and Chen scoured the world to find equipment that could increase output and quality, looking everywhere from Germany to the Netherlands, Spain, Japan, and the United States. He thinks they’ll have it dialed for the buildout, but in the meantime, they’re full steam ahead in East Village. Izola is only available Tuesday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., but Brown assures me they’re “moving mountains” to open on Sundays.

“We’re growing production at somewhere between four and six percent a day,” he says, a slow ramp-up to get his primarily brand-new team of employees up to speed without pushing too hard. But he says in about a month, they’ll likely be able to double their inventory, which will get them closer to his goal of “having a hot croissant for everyone who wants one.”

San Diego Restaurant News & Food Events

Every Sunday in August is a Pepino Pop-Up

Suppose you can’t wait for Chef Sebastian Becerra (Eleven Madison Park, Herb & Wood, COI) to open Pepino, his Peruvian eatery and bakeshop coming to La Jolla next year. In that case, I have good news for you. Every Sunday in August, he’ll be on hand at Michele Coulon Dessertier (7556 Fay Avenue) from 8 a.m. through noon (or whenever he sells out), slinging some of his signature menu items as well as some works-in-progress, like shakshuka on toast, Peruvian-inspired sandwiches and burritos, and pastries like dulce de leche-stuffed chocolate muffins. Keep an eye out for his menu every week on Instagram, and for more support, check out Pepino’s Kickstarter, which launches August 1. 

Chef Obi Comes to Matsu For One Night Only

On Tuesday, August 6, chef Saransh Oberoi (a.k.a. chef Obi, a.k.a. the guy who beat Bobby Flay on Food Network) joins chef William Eick at Matsu for a seven-course dining experience that promises to play on Obi’s modern Indian cuisine expertise, as well as a few surprises. Book your reservation for August 6, or live with regret.

Beth’s Bites

• Troy made the touchdown when he announced Travis Swikward would be opening a new restaurant in UTC, but here I come with the extra point—the name of said restaurant. Fleurette will open sometime next year with modern French cuisine and one hell of a lot of pressure to follow up Callie.
• Fox Point Brewing Company is Encinitas’ latest brewery. Situated at Fox Point Farms—an agriculturally-centric planned community with a cafe, farmstand, the city’s first new brewing operation in 30 years.
• I’m all in for Java Joe Musgrove. I’ll drink his coffee, cheer his strikeouts, and definitely eat the taco he created with Puesto to benefit the local animal shelter, The Animal Pad. Can I have it with one of Doug Hasker’s famous Puesto lagers?
• Rancher Hat Bar, out of Scottsdale, Arizona, is making a California appearance on Sunday, July 28, from 2 pm to 6 pm at The Original 40 Brewing Company in North Park. Gobble a Western Cheeseburger, slam a Mexican lager, and enjoy some country tunes while you craft your very own cowboy or trucker hat for keepsies.

Have breaking news, exciting scoops, or great stories about new San Diego restaurants or the city’s food scene? Send your pitches to [email protected].